Are diamonds forever? a best friend? Best place to get them

by Jamie Rhein on

I’m not a diamond kind of gal. I don’t quite get the fuss, but when I saw the Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History this summer I thought, now that is impressive. If you are a person who is into diamonds, heading to the Diamond District in New York is one way to save lots of money for a gem–more than 50 % if you hit the right dealer who is willing to bargain down.

That’s because almost all diamonds entering the U.S. have a New York City stopover where they are cut, polished and sold before they end up in jewelry stores elsewhere. Reading about the Diamond District in Si Liberman’s article in the Columbus Dispatch reminded me about going a mall of outlet stores, but the deals are better on the diamonds.

I did receive a diamond as a gift once. It came in a small plastic bag, with a zip-lock top. From what I recall my friend got it from his sister’s best friend’s father’s jewelery store. The store was out on Long Island, but the father made frequent trips to the Diamond District for his diamond goods. My friend explained how he picked it because it had the elements of an excellent diamond: cut, color and clarity. It wasn’t big (carat weight is the other value marker) because that would have knocked it out of his price rang. He bought the best he could afford and I had it made into an earring, but alas, it was stolen one of the few times someone broke into my apartment when I was living in Albuquerque. This was one of the only two pieces of jewelry taken. Someone knew what he was doing. (The photo diamonds are fake.)

If you do go to the Diamond District don’t just buy from anyone. Make sure you are at a reputable dealer and find out if the diamond has been altered to get rid of flaws. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy it, but the value isn’t as high.

The worst U.S. cities for gridlock

by Catherine Bodry on

Our good buddy Christopher Elliott has laid out the 5 worst U.S. cities for traffic — and there’s only one surprise. It’s unfortunate that cities with the worst reputations haven’t been able to do any problem-solving. In more than a few of the blacklisted cities, the traffic is getting progressively worse.

So, what are they? First on the list is — surprise, surprise — New York City. Welcome to gridlock hell. With an already top notch public transportation system, there doesn’t seem to be any easy solutions on the horizon for the Big Apple. Elliott suggests that the only reasonable fix is congestion pricing — charging motorists who use roads during peak hours.

Next up is San Francisco, another no-brainer. And like New York, it’s got a great transit system in place. No problems easily solved there. Any suggestions?

Third is Seattle. I grew up there, and I watched the traffic go from bad to worse to I’ll-never-live-here-again. The city is getting a light-rail system, but I’m pretty pessimistic about it being able to alleviate traffic. But I’m hopeful.

Minneapolis came in 4th, due in part to the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge. The city already had an awful traffic problem, but the 35W bridge was a main access point to the city. Not no more. The commute has been compared to Los Angeles’ nightmare — and that was before the bridge collapse.

At number 5 is Miami. It may seem like a surprising choice, but Elliott links to a list of construction projects and challenges you to disagree with him. He argues that he knows no one who regularly uses its mass transit system, and the roads can’t keep up with the city’s growth.

Wondering where L.A. is? Elliott listed it as a semi-finalist. If L.A. is a runner-up, then the winners must truly be awful.

New York Audio Tours

by Neil Woodburn on

There are a million different ways to explore New York, and just about as many guidebooks and tour guides to help you out.

One tourist genre that has grown exponentially in the last few years is the MP3 audio tour. Initially the tours that first appeared were the typical, “walk down this street and on your left you’ll see this iconic landmark.” But, as with all new industries, a growing number of niche audio tours are emerging to stand out from the crowd.

New York Times columnist Seth Kugel recently “went to town” with some of the better options and has kindly shared them with us.

Soundwalk appears to be his favorite. The company offers 13 tours at $12 a pop that are “led by quirky New Yorkers who direct you to places and enter doors where you would otherwise never be.” Very cool!

For a description of the other audio tours reviewed, click here.

New York’s Most Expensive Hotel Room

by Neil Woodburn on

High atop the 52-story Four Seasons in New York sits the city’s most expensive hotel room: the Ty Warner Penthouse.

It takes a lot to earn such an accolade in this city, but thanks to the efforts of I.M. Pei and interior architect Peter Marino, lucky visitors to the Big Apple can now drop $30,000 a night for the privilege.

So what does 30 grand get you?

* 4,300 square feet
* 25-foot ceilings
* Chauffeured Rolls Royce
* 24-hour butler
* Private elevator
* Four balconies
* Fitness room
* Library
* Bösendorfer piano
* Zen garden
* Infinity edge bathtub
* Unlimited supply of Twinkies (um, just kidding)

Budget Fares from New York to Egypt

by Grant Martin on

Airfare Watchdog is reporting the latest in a string of strange USA-LON-XXX flights that are remarkably cheap for this time of year. This week, the Egyptian port of Sharm el-Sheikh is on sale from New York City for the paltry sum of about 600USD.

Availability appears to be anywhere between November and March, and AFWD has created a series of handy dandy links to help you search throughout an entire month of availability. The trick with booking this flight is to be flexible. Most dirt-cheap tickets are going to require a little bit of leeway on your part — leaving on a weekday or flying out of your way to get to where you need to be. Just remember that you’re getting a steal on airline tickets and any deal you can work out and book is a gift.

Another thing to remember is that deals like this often don’t last long. Gadling readers searching for this fare on Wednesday may already be too late; often times you may have a few hours to research, book and confirm your tickets. I won’t advocate making any snap decisions on international travel, but it may be a good idea to check the cancellation policy on your favorite booking engine’s FAQ. Many have a clause where you can cancel a ticket within 24 hours without penalty. That way you can book a ticket for you and your girlfriend from work right now and ask for her permission when you get home.

Trans-Atlantic legs appear to be mostly on British Airways, a oneworld alliance member earning you miles on American, British, Cathay and Quantas among others.

With regard to Egyptian travel, you can pay for a visa at the border (nifty postage stamp visas that you can paste into your passport yourself) for a reasonable price. Sharm el-Sheikh is a fabulous city at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula well known as a tourist destination and home to excellent scuba diving and western hobnobbery.

Don’t forget your Cipro.